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Dum transisset Sabbatum

Introduction

Like John Tavener, Jonathan Harvey (b1939) has drawn compositional inspiration from religious material. Harvey has also been inspired by many composers and theorists: Erwin Stein, Hans Keller, Schoenberg, Babbit, Schenke, Britten, Tippett and others. In his early years, Harvey deliberately cultivated an eclectic outlook in his own music, although many of the works from this period were withdrawn. He is also an enthusiastic electro-acoustic composer, and has worked at the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in Paris. Perhaps it is these multifarious influences which contribute to Harvey’s rich and varied compositional output.

Dum transisset sabbatum was commissioned for the 1995 City of London Festival Service and first performed by the choir at St Paul’s Cathedral conducted by John Scott on 2 July 1995. The composer has kindly provided the following note for this recording:

The motet takes a seemingly simple moment from the Gospel, significant because it is a very feminine moment in a masculine doctrine and a moment of great mystical power, on the verge of Christianity as a supernatural force. The ‘virtuosic vocality’ is a celebration of the florid, ecstatic atmosphere of Easter morning. The exuberant lines—usually one fast, one medium speed and one slow—are woven through eight modes which recur in order with ever shorter time-spans until they are crunched into chords at the end.

Recordings

'St Paul's is the king of cathedral choirs, and the sound of their singing, with the majesty of the organ in the awesome reverberance of the great bui ...'Truly heroic performances from the St Paul's Choir which is on top form. A memorable record' (Organists' Review)» More

When the sabbath was past: Mary Magdalen, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and annoint Jesus. Alleluia. Very early on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb: the sun was just rising. Alleluia.